Yesterday [July 8] National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief spoke about the Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act 2011 he planned to table in the House Of Assembly.

Minister Perinchief said, “Intelligence analysis indicates that when cash flow is disrupted, gang activities lessened. When it becomes apparent to the offenders and others, that the criminal justice system will not stop at sentencing, but will ensure that crime generally does not pay. This will act as a deterrent.”

“The bill I will table today is the first step in disrupting the cash flow that is so vital to any criminal enterprise in this community. The bill targets cash which a police officer seizes in the course of his duties. It is not just any cash however, the officers must have reasonable grounds for suspecting that the cash is the proceeds of criminal conduct or intended for that purpose.”

“This bill is designed to crush the criminal masterminds whose cash reserves fund violence, promote the misery of drugs and other illegal activities that consume our communities,” noted the Minister.

Comments (50)

I'm no expert on gang activities, but that statement seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me. I thought that gang members would become more desperate when their source of income is threatened, and that some of their more anti-social behaviours would become more overt. Maybe the logic of the statement hangs on the definition of "gang activities" in the Minister’s eyes...

LOL!! Wish it was so!! Bahahaha! Oh well we all know that the corruption is the BIG money boys not the guys with a couple a g's but the people with BANKKK! Ah yes... the Bermuda shorts criminal is the true profit maker, come on Chief you know what's really going on, time to burn the big BANK boys.

If you want to "crush" the gangs then its simple. Jail them in Cuba. Then demolish Westgate and turn it into affordable housing. All the "not so bad boys" can go to the prison farm...but if they "act up" there then will join their mates in Cuba. The Cuban prison will be built for Bermudians and the proceeds to build it will come from the sale of the Westgate property. Cuba will welcome their new long-term tourists. Comments??

Ahh ... But now there is a huge market for cheap generic drugs thats been untapped ... Maybe it time to corner that and force the insurance carriers to subscribe ... Brilliant screenwriting Bollywood , Just Bloody Brilliant

take away the illegal markets then the entire cash flow will be terminated. regulate and control..because at the moment the whole labeling substances as 'Controlled Substances' is a joke. If they were controlled why can i find them on every street corner?

i couldnt agree more, LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. It will take away a significant amount of funds from violent gangs that can be put toward prevention and rehabilitation of use of more addictive drugs like crack and heroine.

I agree..sort of. I don't believe marajuana should be legalized at this point as the effect for those of us that like to (and can) travel freely would be comprimized. However, I do believe it that the possesion of marajuane in small personal amounts should be decriminalized. Fine someone..no need to lock them up over a joint.

The best way to disrupt the cash associated with the drug trade, is to remove the profit component. And since the only reason why people get involved in the drug trade, is to make lots of money, common sense would dictate, that if there is not a lot of money to be made, then it would lose it's appeal.

The key word here is "common sense" that means, the individuals in charge of law making, would have to have the ability to connect the dots and use wisdom in their decision making, and when was the last time anyone saw politicians actually useing wisdom in their decision making.

One acquires wisdom by studying ones environment and everything within. So when it becomes time to make policies and laws that will be effective, only the facts will be used, not emotions and folklore.

Take the profit out of the drug trade and your violent crime will decrease dramatically over night. The caveat to this is, IT HAS TO BE DONE NOW! if you wait until you this violence becomes ingrained in the psychey of your people, then you would have missed the window of opportunity.

Once violent behavior becomes second nature, every conflict resolution will be met with a violent action and that is very difficult to fix. Right now we are in the infancy of this phenomenon and if approached correctly, it can be fixed.

But who am I fooling, politicians only react to crises, so eventually, they will do later what they should be doing now, but by then, it would have been too late. By then, a different course of action would be needed.

Come on, I am encouraging people to think. Ask yourself why is selling drugs so profitable world wide and even more profitable in Bermuda. When you have the answer for that. then you will know how to take the profit out.

When people have less money for recreational drugs plus lots high rollers leaving the island the dealers will turn to other crimes and scams to survive Hence all the other nonsence going on robberies and bag snatching etc ..recession is hitting the drug dealers also.

I follow the Ministers logic,but respectfully disagree with him. It must be remembered that the proceeds from the drug trade very often assists families with rent, groceries and paying bills. In other words,other family members are also relying on this cash, simply in order to survive. This of course places more pressure on the dealers. When there is a cash shortage the criminal activity more than likely, will increase. This is happening in Bermuda now!

U are kidding right. Families that are assisted by drug money can easily be assisted by legal working. Trust me on this one. In my earlier years I know several people that benefited from "the trade". What did they really have...long term. Peace of mind...NO, a sense of accomplishment...NO, pride...No, skills...NO, Motivation...NO, a desire to get up and do something productive ...NO! I don't know one person, who's family is secure and has benefited from the drug trade in the long term. Not one of them has any assetts...any ability or desire to save or any business sence. They have all been arressted or made redundant by younger and more aggressive dealers. It shouldn't be any surprise to anyone whythey call it DOPE!

@Class of 85. No kidding here!! When the breadwinner/s is/are suddenly made redundant and stands to to be evicted for non payment of rent etc, with no one in the home employed, motivation and the rest of these idealistic things you mention bla,bla, bla do not come into play! Everyone in Bermuda doesn't have your background and your perspective. However, they still need to survive and feed the family. It is sheer nonsense to assume that they ALL use the proceeds to buy plasma televisions, expensive cars, bling etc. I do not condone the use /sale of drugs, but I understand other peoples predicaments. As for financial assistance,it is like pulling teeth. Maybe you should climb down from your ivory tower and face the REAL world!

Has anyone figired out how guns and drugs enter into Bermuda? I do not believe they are coming via airplane. Sure, a few people get caught here and there with marijuana as they arrive through the airport. So, what about the monitoring of sea vessels that come into port late at night? Just curious what the customs and immigration processes are. I know in most US ports, you have a welcoming party that greets you, processes your paperwork, inspects the vessel, etc...before you can even step foot on the dock.

US Observer & Rockfish 2 you are not saying or thinking anything new..this has been said for years....this new thought that is being tabled will only affect "the Little Fish" the "Big Fish" will still be the High Rollers. As long as there is corruption we will always have these problems and no Country, City, Island, big or small is immune to it.....

(I had to add Original to my name, so as to not be confused with the other person, that also call them self "Free Thinker")

US Observer: And again, I am only encouraging people to think things through and the way you do that is, keep asking questions and then use logical thinking to come up with the answers.

I think you need to ask why is it they seem to cant stop drugs and guns from entering. The answer to that is many folds. Firstly, it is very profitable and where there is a lot of money to be made, corruption will be rampant. So in other words, an entire chain of people are involved, from the entry point, all the way to the consumer, and the Trial Layers that defends the drug criminals and the prison Officers that get paid to keep them locked. Not to mention the retailers and Car dealers that depends on these folks spending their (Hard Earned Money, HA!)

The guns, they never planed on, this is just one of those unintended consequences. When was the last time we heard of a Customs Officer being busted for importing alcohol or tobacco.

It has been proven scientifically, that we will always have drug users in every society and this is because some people are neurologically wired to be addicts, NOT NECESSARILY TO DRUGS but to whatever the environment in which they live is has exposed them to. In a different place or community they may be a Base jumper and so forth.

So if we will always have drug addicts, then people will find a way to supply those addicts. In the legal world of drug use, people by and use cigarettes and alcohol, some will live normal lives and some, will not. We as a society have accepted that, but we also know that only true and effective way of not having kids get on drugs in the first place, is through education and opportunity and filling those voids in their lives with positive outlets, which otherwise would be filled by drugs.

So in a nut shell, it makes science to legalize all drugs and control them, like any other pharmaceuticals;

provide our youngsters with education and opportunities therefore equipping them, so they will be MORE LIKELY to make the right choices; and when I say educate them, I mean all of them, not just the ones who are fortunate to have supporting parents and a stable family environment. But especially the the ones who don't.

When this is done, then as the thugs we have today die a natural death, we will not have a lot more to fill their ranks. So in ten to fifteen years or so, we will see a better Bermuda.

But please remember this with so Manny people in that chain benefiting, I have no hopes that this will ever end. My guess is, we will just maintain the statuesque like every society and live with it and the consequences.

There isn't a night customs security remember there is no over time in Govt. Unfortunately that is the problem. There needs to be controls that's what harbour radio is supposed to be for. They should immediately call police etc when non Bermudian or Bermudian vessels enter our shores late at night but hey someone knows and someone is benefiting

Which comes first, the Law or the Crime? The over night solutions would to be 1)Get rid of paper & coin currency and 2) Legalize marijauna. This will definitely fine tune a lot of things. I have always said it and I will continue to say it,the problem is who is actually profiting from such activities. "Crush the criminal masterminds" LOL

Put your hands up all those of you who are for the sale trade and barter of illegal drugs in this country called Bermuda.!!!We have an Island you can go to where they used to house you rent free........its called San Quentin.Please hand over your Bermuda Passports at the Airport and .....I understand its open now for residents to take up occupancy.Hurry so you can get your application form in.Its best that you do not remain in Bermuda.....Bermuda is for good folks.!!!!!!!

Eliminate cash in Bermuda that way people on/selling drugs will not be able to buy drugs/profit,the currency they have will be useless.If someone comes in the bank and tries to deposit 50,000 make them show receipts for every dollar if they cant call the police. Basically take away everything and anything that have made these guys comfortable for the last decade. If harder laws were imposed you would all see crimes drastically drop in a matter of weeks. Our laws have allowed the violence to continue everyone making suggestions that the random Bermudian should just call the police is not good enough.I have seen people do this only to be told we the police cannot arrest that person on just the information you gave us. He HAS TO basically commit a crime. 2) Get police to actively bust in houses randomly to seize drugs and find out who is really living in these houses and what they do on a day to day basis. But taking cash away would be HUGE advantage for this fight on drugs and gangs, It would be impossible for them to make any money at all ,and police would have to work with the banks and watch incomes and see where the money is coming from and you would be able to randomly freeze bank accounts every week if you have to if you find something sucpicious. This would bring all the dealers and addicts to the surface. And the police would have to make arrests and make sure people are not threatening family members in households a lot of people are still held under hostage from own family memebers

Also a lot of drug dealers have jobs some like that young man who was arrested a few months ago with a lot of marijuana plants in his house, he worked for a company for many years.Most guys on drugs have jobs. They wake up everyday and go to work and at the end of the week get a pay check.Then take that pay check and convert it to cash and give give it to the drug dealers. This has been going on since the 80's this simple way of doing things needs to be shut down immediately or Bda will be ruined by a few small individuals who live their daily lives like this.

I recall many a fly-by-night landscaping , plumbing , electrical ,satellite dish , painting and all other manner of companies forming and taking off like rockets during the eighties .. Guess it's too late to look at their books. But why aren't more people wondering how guys who dropped out of school and have never worked a legitimate job a day in their lives are able to live so large ?

At the same time they think people working like crazy at legitimate jobs with a small car and no 'multiple' yearly trips ( making real sacrifices) to own their first home are priviledged ..

@ you said it. it may be too late to look at what happened many years ago but the authorities can definetly take a look at whats going on now. And I agree with you how could someone who has not attended college not even graduated from high school,or even been overseas for accredited programs for certification be living large. It shows that someone is not doing real investigation. I have heard of guys purchasing ridiculous things in cash in hamilton and nothing is really done about it i guess the shops are just glad to make money. I agree so many people work hard and these guys really give the hardworking Bermudians a bad name its a shame, i dont buy into the word priviledged.

@ US Observer: I doubt it........... if they really wanted to stop this crime they could, i really feel like these guys are ALLOWED to continue their behavior because they know they can get away with it. This is really an ALLOWED behavior that can be stopped in a small place like Bda.

@Vent - I totally agree with you. Bermuda is small enough so how can you not know who is doing what? From what I am hearing, that's the problem; eveyone knows everyone and is either scared to say anything or too close to the source. I remember in the 80's if I was seen walking or talking with someone questionable my mother or family would get a phone call before I made it home and questioned as to who I was with and what I was doing. Where are those types of parents...looking back I thought I had it rough but now I know it was necessary and grateful. What happened to that generation of parent? Then the 90's arrived with Kids having kids..wow. I remember in the 90's when 15 and 16 year olds were having kids...now here it is 2011. Enough said.

Some of you people need a reality check! Again--there are families in Bermuda that are dependant on the proceeds of drug sales in order to survive, more so than before, for obvious reasons. Do you really believe that these people will turn the dealers in? They actually protect and revere them. Certainly you must be aware that in several countries(Jamaica comes to mind) political parties rely on dealers to deliver votes.(Dudus) It is an exercise in futility to spend resources on the little man, while ignoring those who fund the business. BTW, the comments made regarding the customs and immigration procedures as they apply to vessels entering Bermuda need to be taken very seriously!

@Rockfish - I find your comments to be interesting and educational for me. If your statement is true regarding Jamaica, can one assume it can or is happening in Bermuda? This is an interesting subject and I hope there is a resolution in the near future.

The only way to keep heat off of your self is to pick on someone else, my boy round the road can not afford a private jet or yacht these are the ppl who have the money funding the drug trade living large they may even laugh at us becuase we think ya boy from round the road just bought a flat screen t.v. cash don't get me wrong some ppl cant do that, but in the same token it's petty much chomp change to the real bigshots! So to distract us they just keep implementing plans to keep our young black men not so focused, blame us and have us fighting with one another!! N we r actually falling for it!!! It's a cycle and our young black men have become pawns in this game

“Intelligence analysis indicates that when cash flow is disrupted, gang activities lessened. When it becomes apparent to the offenders and others, that the criminal justice system will not stop at sentencing, but will ensure that crime generally does not pay. This will act as a deterrent.” - Minister Perinchief.

@Yup - so what is Mr. Perinchief suggesting? That the cash flow is not with "your boy around the road" (the little fish) but the BIG FISH who has the cash to control and direct the operation? Who's cash flow should be disrupted? The person who owns a private yacht or airplane? Ohhhh...hmmm..

That's up to you to decide. But i am pretty sure that the drugs will not stop coming and our boys will keep dying. Falling victim to greed and material gain! Most of the time these um not even sure what to call them, but they do nothing with the profits of the game but buy bikes and cars and the mentality...... No matter how many of our young men die to this WAR on DRUGS in this small island this trade is gonna last forever and its worldwide! To be honest with you i dont have the answer but i have a few suggestions like most ppl do. I think we both no who's cash flow is not going to be disrupted!

It is perfectly obvious that the Minister needs to go back to the drawing board with this one! He is sending out confusing/mixed messages and seems to want to push this legislation through too fast, without proper consultation. ( sound familiar?)

Perhaps he should begin with his brother who along with others, founded BAN ---BERMUDIANS AGAINST NARCOTICS.

@ Rockfish I see what you're saying and i and a lot of other know that a lot of people survive off of the sale of drugs its common knowlede in Bda. Thats why i said in a lot of my statments that they need to elimante the use of CASH if they really want to tackle this problem Perinchief has some good ideas but he should really grab the bull by the horn and go all the way. ElIMINATE cash to the fullest. If you have money that is illegal you will not be able to do anything, such as buy groceries, put gas in your bike or car, pay your electricity bill. He need to take things seriously and shut down whatever it takes to stop this madness. This will weed out a lot of currupt people and if they want to make a living and buy things legitametly they can work like everyone else.Apply for assistance with goc or whatever. @ US observer what state are you from? And yes kida are having kids , but also the public school education is a joke, and the family environment that i grew up in is very slim now a lot of people are so busy working they dont have time raise children right. But it is still no excuse a lot of ppl in that past that didnt have a lot of money still had a lot of family support.Its pretty bad these days. I know when i have kids they will be raised properely i gues not everyone thinks like that

If weed was to become legal Bermuda mite as well blow itself off the map. Its called a domino affect. If you make weed legal people will smoke their life away to the point were weed just don't cut it anymore then they will start doing different drugs. i do think they are a bit drastic with the law tho. you dnt have to make it legal but give it a "window" meaning jus control the amount you let into the island. So much people in Bermuda smoke weed what do you think all those people are going to do when all the weed is gone? What are all your drug dealers gonna do for money? Believe it or not most drug dealers already have jobs. What is your everyday "crackhead" gonna do now? What did crime look like in the 60's when what we now call a quarter which goes for $150 sometimes more was only $10 back then. People become frustrated. Look at the big picture people to make weed legal is not goon help just make it alil more accessible so its not so expensive for the everyday person. Truth be told government has a lot of nerve cause no one does more drugs then them and i know cause i have been to more then one of their "behind closed door" parties.